Moonbats Falsely Accuse Cheney

If the moonbats would check their facts before they say something then perhaps they would not be so misinformed. The “revelation” today is that Dick Cheney told the American public he had no interest in Halliburton (the donk mantra). Senator Frank R. Lautenberg requested information in 2003 alleging that Cheney made a profit from his stock in his old company, after he told us he had no interest in it. I Guess since the donks have nothing new, they have to dig up this stuff that was used in the 2004 election. This is what Cheney said:

Cheney (Sept. 14, 2003): I’ve severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interests. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven’t had now for over three years. And as vice president, I have absolutely no influence of, involvement of, knowledge of in any way, shape or form of contracts led by the Corps of Engineers or anybody else in the federal government.

My God! How can America live with this man. He is suppose to have made a fortune off Halliburton after he promised us he had no financial interest in that company. Here is the Lautenberg quote from Adam’s site:

“An analysis released today by the Office of Senator Frank R. Lautenberg reveals that Vice President Cheney’s Halliburton stock options have increased in value 3,281 percent in one year. The stock options, which were worth $241,498 one year ago are now valued at $8,165,489.07.”

Unfortunately, this does not hold water. I can understand the moonbats in the real world would be taken in by this. None of them routinely check any facts (or dates). They just print what their moonbat leaders put out and accept it as the truth. If they would do some fact checking they might actually know that Dick and Lynn Cheney signed all of those stocks over to charity. They hold the stocks because the terms of the agreement are for them to be sold at a later date. Here is a little bit of information about the charitable donation:

The “Gift Trust Agreement” the Cheney’s signed two days before he took office turns over power of attorney to a trust administrator to sell the options at some future time and to give the after-tax profits to three charities. The agreement specifies that 40% will go to the University of Wyoming (Cheney’s home state), 40% will go to George Washington University’s medical faculty to be used for tax-exempt charitable purposes, and 20% will go to Capital Partners for Education , a charity that provides financial aid for low-income students in Washington, DC to attend private and religious schools.

So as anyone with a brain can see, what the Cheneys actually did was donate over $8 million to charity. Yes boys and girls, a money hungry, big business Republican and his wife donated all of their stocks totaling over $8 Million to charity. And the charities benefit education, some of it for low income families. Now I know there are some moonbats who will say this was a ploy so that he could take office and avoid a conflict of interest. They will claim that the reason the date for the sale is in the future is so he can revoke the agreement when he leaves office. Here is a little more about both items:

The agreement states that it is “irrevocable and may not be terminated, waived or amended,” so the Cheney’s can’t take back their options later.emphasis added

Actually, the plain language of the Office of Government Ethics regulations on this matter seems clear enough. The regulations state: “The term financial interest means the potential for gain or loss to the employee . . . as a result of governmental action on the particular matter.” So by removing the “potential for gain or loss” Cheney has solid grounds to argue that he has removed any “financial interest” that would pose a conflict under federal regulations.

The information was provided by Fact Check when Kerry ran an ad that told the very lie that Lautenberg was trying to peddle. Anyone interested can read the facts here and see a copy of the agreement here.

It would really be helpful if the moonbats did a little fact checking. It would be more helpful if Senators checked facts so they could stop wasting money chasing things that do not exist (agreement in 2001, inquiry in 2003).

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